Monday Update: Fox’s sci-fi horror Alien: Covenant captured a close first place at the box office this weekend with $36.1 million. Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 took second with $34.6 million, after spending the past two frames on top.
Some analysts projected Guardians would win for the third straight frame, and indeed Sunday studio estimates showed a tight race with Alien slightly ahead. But Monday actuals padded Alien‘s total while decreasing Guardians‘ by a few hundred thousand dollars.
Warner Bros.’ young adult romance Everything, Everything started in third place with $11.7 million, slightly below other young adult romances of recent years. And Fox’s family comedy Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul crashed in sixth place with $7.1 million, the fourth installment of the Wimpy Kid series starting with less than half of the previous lowest opening in the series.
The full table of weekend actuals is at bottom, after our Sunday update with fuller analysis.
Sunday Update: It’s close enough that the top two films might switch places when weekend actuals are revealed on Monday, but for now, Fox’s Alien: Covenant seems to have won and dethroned Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The science-fiction sequel earned an estimated $36.0 million, ranking just above the superhero sequel which led the past two frames.
The R-rated latest entry into the Alien franchise — starring Michael Fassbender in an ensemble cast — played in 606 fewer theaters, but won the weekend by its higher per-screen average. This should be chalked up as a solid if not amazing win for Fox, proving that the decades-old series still has steam.
That being said, the film did start lower than several other comparable space horror/thriller titles. It opens 29.4 percent behind the $50.1 million opening of previous franchise installment Prometheus. It also began behind the debuts of Gravity, Interstellar, Independence Day: Resurgence, and The Martian.
Just in the past 24 hours, the studio downgraded its weekend estimate from $40.2 million to $36.0 million. Any estimate change of more than about 10 percent between Saturday and Sunday is highly unusual, indicating that the numbers are coming in below expectations, possibly enough to drop it into second place by the time weekend actuals are revealed MOnday.
The film earned a ‘B’ average CinemaScore and 76 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating. It started with an estimated $15.3 million on Friday night, including an estimated $4.2 million from Thursday night previews, for a opening weekend to Friday ratio of 2.34 to 1.
Disney’s Guardians took second place with a 46.3 percent drop to $35.0 million. After experiencing a better second-weekend hold last frame than other comparable Marvel superhero sequels like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Iron Man 2, and Thor: The Dark World, the film also experiences a milder third-weekend decline than those other titles as well. Chalk it up to positive word of mouth and weaker-than-expected competition so far.
With $301.8 million banked domestically, the sequel is closing in on the original Guardians‘ $333.1 million total, a figure it should surpass by next weekend.
Warner Bros.’ Everything, Everything began in third place with an estimated $12.0 million. The young adult romance stars relative newcomers Amandla Stenberg and Nick Robinson. It opens slightly below — but in range of — other recent comparable titles such as Paper Towns, If I Stay, and Me Before You. The film has already earned back its estimated $10 million budget domestically, compared to the estimated $97 million budget for Alien: Covenant which might prove difficult to reach domestically.
Everything earned an ‘A-‘ average CinemaScore, from an audience that ran 82 percent female and 52 percent below age 18. It started with an estimated $4.7 million on Friday, including $525 thousand in Thursday night previews, for an estimated opening weekend to Friday ratio of 2.53 to 1.
Fox’s family comedy Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul didn’t fare as well, posting by far the lowest opening of the four installments in the Wimpy Kid franchise, at less than half the previous lowest opening. The film begins in fifth place, compared to second, first, and third place place debuts respectively for the three previous installments. Its $7.2 million is also significantly behind the $22.1, $23.7, and $14.6 million starts for the prior films.
Among the negative factors were a May release date with steeper competition than the series’ previous March and August releases, plus with a new actor in the lead role, as previous lead Zachary Gordon who audiences had come to know had aged out of the “kid” designation. Also not helping was the film’s “rotten” 23 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film started with an estimated $2.0 million on Friday, including $150 thousand from Thursday night previews, placing the opening weekend to Friday ratio at 3.6 to 1. (An impressive-sounding number, in this case it’s more reflective of a low opening day than an indication of a good hold in weeks to come.)
The top 10 films earned an estimated $115.2 million. That’s 7.4 percent behind than the $124.5 million from last weekend. It’s also 6.2 percent behind the $123.0 million on this weekend last year, when Captain America: Civil War led for the second frame with $72.6 million.
Weekend Actuals for Friday, May 19 – Sunday, May 21, 2017:
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alien: Covenant | $36,160,621 | — | 3,761 | — | $9,615 | $36,160,621 | 1 | Fox |
| 2 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | $34,653,754 | -47% | 4,347 | 0 | $7,972 | $301,391,228 | 3 | Disney |
| 3 | Everything, Everything | $11,727,390 | — | 2,801 | — | $4,187 | $11,727,390 | 1 | Warner Bros. |
| 4 | Snatched | $7,832,517 | -60% | 3,511 | 10 | $2,231 | $33,015,117 | 2 | Fox |
| 5 | King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword | $7,152,269 | -53% | 3,702 | 0 | $1,932 | $27,503,490 | 2 | Warner Bros. |
| 6 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul | $7,126,084 | — | 3,157 | — | $2,257 | $7,126,084 | 1 | 20th Century Fox |
| 7 | The Fate of the Furious | $3,234,040 | -40% | 2,287 | -780 | $1,414 | $219,944,340 | 6 | Universal |
| 8 | The Boss Baby | $2,848,253 | -37% | 2,071 | -840 | $1,375 | $166,200,803 | 8 | Fox / DreamWorks Animation |
| 9 | Beauty and the Beast | $2,545,579 | -47% | 1,792 | -380 | $1,421 | $497,924,628 | 10 | Disney |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How to Be A Latin Lover | $2,051,180 | -47% | 948 | -175 | $2,164 | $29,309,990 | 4 | Lionsgate / Pantelion |
| 2 | Lowriders | $1,183,600 | -51% | 365 | 70 | $3,243 | $4,211,985 | 2 | BH Tilt |
| 3 | Gifted | $766,765 | -50% | 824 | -602 | $931 | $22,900,823 | 7 | Fox Searchlight |
| 4 | Going in Style | $600,081 | -44% | 690 | -554 | $870 | $43,372,898 | 7 | Warner Bros. / New Line |
| 5 | Smurfs: The Lost Village | $572,562 | -50% | 652 | -953 | $878 | $43,064,566 | 7 | Sony / Columbia |
| 6 | Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer | $565,554 | 48% | 373 | 220 | $1,516 | $2,273,140 | 6 | Sony Pictures Classics |
| 7 | The Circle | $451,218 | -75% | 647 | -1485 | $697 | $20,030,002 | 4 | EuropaCorp/STXfilms |
| 8 | Born in China | $371,765 | -59% | 575 | -480 | $647 | $13,137,812 | 5 | Disneynature |
| 9 | The Lovers | $274,050 | 119% | 105 | 82 | $2,610 | $528,495 | 3 | A24 |
| 10 | Get Out | $245,135 | -38% | 262 | -143 | $936 | $174,939,840 | 13 | Universal |
| 11 | The Zookeeper’s Wife | $231,360 | -37% | 275 | -150 | $841 | $16,839,076 | 8 | Focus Features |
| 12 | Logan | $205,176 | -28% | 213 | -92 | $963 | $225,885,681 | 12 | Fox |
| 13 | Power Rangers | $204,916 | 94% | 221 | 24 | $927 | $85,067,486 | 9 | Lionsgate |
| 14 | A Quiet Passion | $202,731 | -5% | 135 | 18 | $1,502 | $1,081,006 | 6 | Music Box Films |
| 15 | The Lost City of Z | $202,564 | -60% | 217 | -280 | $933 | $8,010,429 | 6 | Amazon Studios / Bleecker Street |
| 16 | Kong: Skull Island | $201,305 | -30% | 238 | -108 | $846 | $167,051,307 | 11 | Warner Bros. |
| 17 | The LEGO Batman Movie | $155,339 | 4% | 202 | -18 | $769 | $175,329,830 | 15 | Warner Bros. |
| 18 | Their Finest | $150,709 | -50% | 155 | -103 | $972 | $3,178,763 | 7 | EuropaCorp/STXfilms |
| 19 | The Case For Christ | $91,103 | -52% | 138 | -128 | $660 | $14,450,540 | 7 | Pure Flix |
| 20 | Sleight | $84,100 | -72% | 113 | -251 | $744 | $3,847,290 | 4 | High Top Releasing |
| 21 | Unforgettable | $81,680 | -56% | 176 | -127 | $464 | $11,274,490 | 5 | Warner Bros. |
| 22 | Colossal | $77,785 | -36% | 105 | -60 | $741 | $2,868,097 | 7 | Neon |
| 23 | Ghost in the Shell | $53,928 | -47% | 124 | -64 | $435 | $40,533,014 | 8 | Paramount / DreamWorks |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris Can Wait | $188,369 | 91% | 23 | 19 | $8,190 | $318,951 | 2 | Sony Pictures Classics |
| 2 | Hidden Figures | $55,942 | -31% | 81 | -22 | $691 | $169,274,813 | 22 | Fox |
| 3 | Life (2017) | $39,204 | -45% | 87 | -38 | $451 | $30,180,466 | 9 | Sony / Columbia |
| 4 | The Dinner | $38,829 | -83% | 92 | -336 | $422 | $1,280,517 | 3 | The Orchard |
| 5 | Obit. | $33,851 | 69% | 20 | 10 | $1,693 | $129,299 | 4 | Kino Lorber |
| 6 | CHiPs | $33,384 | -43% | 41 | -64 | $814 | $18,591,819 | 9 | Warner Bros. |
| 7 | This Is Not What I Expected | $26,478 | -53% | 12 | -17 | $2,207 | $306,767 | 3 | Well Go USA |
| 8 | Like Crazy | $23,232 | 489% | 13 | 9 | $1,787 | $37,508 | 3 | Strand Releasing |
| 9 | Stalker | $21,856 | 130% | 5 | 4 | $4,371 | $73,516 | 3 | Janus |
| 10 | Battle of Memories | $21,433 | -55% | 11 | -10 | $1,948 | $570,992 | 4 | China Lion Film |
| 11 | Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent | $15,363 | 12% | 33 | 13 | $466 | $1,257,051 | 5 | The Orchard |
| 12 | Abacus: Small Enough to Jail | $12,528 | — | 1 | — | $12,528 | $12,528 | 1 | PBS Distribution |
| 13 | Risk | $12,104 | -68% | 13 | -32 | $931 | $171,994 | 3 | Neon |
| 14 | Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary | $11,941 | -48% | 10 | -6 | $1,194 | $222,623 | 6 | Abramorama |
| 15 | Phoenix Forgotten | $11,913 | -77% | 13 | -42 | $916 | $3,581,315 | 5 | Cinelou Films |
| 16 | Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe | $10,682 | -9% | 4 | 3 | $2,671 | $29,335 | 2 | First Run Features |
| 17 | T2: Trainspotting | $10,234 | -44% | 22 | -10 | $465 | $2,395,410 | 12 | Sony |
| 18 | The Commune | $9,249 | — | 7 | — | $1,321 | $9,249 | 1 | Magnolia Pictures |
| 19 | The King’s Case Note | $7,332 | -63% | 4 | -3 | $1,833 | $78,705 | 4 | CJ Entertainment |
| 20 | Manifesto | $7,312 | -24% | 1 | 0 | $7,312 | $24,816 | 2 | FilmRise |
| 21 | Buster Mal’s Heart | $7,266 | — | 10 | — | $727 | $62,382 | 4 | Well Go USA |
| 22 | The Belko Experiment | $7,070 | -96% | 18 | -56 | $393 | $10,164,675 | 10 | BH Tilt |
| 23 | Maurice (2017 re-release) | $6,972 | — | 1 | — | $6,972 | $6,972 | 1 | Cohen Media Group |
| 24 | Truman | $6,628 | 14% | 6 | -3 | $1,105 | $186,920 | 7 | Filmrise |
| 25 | Afterimage | $5,832 | — | 1 | — | $5,832 | $5,832 | 1 | Film Movement |
| 26 | Tommy’s Honour | $5,774 | -26% | 13 | -2 | $444 | $561,963 | 6 | Roadside Attractions |
| 27 | Leon Morin, Priest (2017 re-release) | $5,644 | -51% | 1 | 0 | $5,644 | $26,466 | 2 | Rialto Pictures |
| 28 | Icaros: A Vision | $5,510 | — | 1 | — | $5,510 | $5,510 | 1 | Factory |
| 29 | Bang! The Bert Berns Story | $4,660 | 1% | 2 | -2 | $2,330 | $31,767 | 4 | Abramorama |
| 30 | I am Not Your Negro | $3,795 | -58% | 7 | -3 | $542 | $7,106,285 | 16 | Magnolia Pictures |
| 31 | Frantz | $2,887 | -59% | 6 | -9 | $481 | $858,208 | 10 | Music Box Films |
| 32 | David Lynch: The Art Life | $2,833 | -59% | 3 | -5 | $944 | $142,569 | 8 | Janus |
| 33 | A Woman’s Life | $2,640 | -65% | 2 | -2 | $1,320 | $32,714 | 3 | Kino Lorber Films |
| 34 | The Woman Who Left | $2,018 | — | 1 | — | $2,018 | $2,018 | 1 | Kino Lorber Films |
| 35 | The Last Shaman | $1,994 | -71% | 3 | 2 | $665 | $10,538 | 2 | Abramorama Entertainment |
| 36 | Cezanne and I | $1,945 | -61% | 6 | -1 | $324 | $229,929 | 8 | Magnolia Pictures |
| 37 | The Red Turtle | $1,597 | 139% | 5 | 2 | $319 | $920,057 | 18 | Sony Pictures Classics |
| 38 | Burden | $1,480 | -77% | 3 | -9 | $493 | $18,001 | 3 | Magnolia Pictures |
| 39 | Soul on a String | $1,355 | — | 2 | — | $678 | $1,355 | 1 | Film Movement |
| 40 | Land of Mine | $1,266 | -35% | 2 | -1 | $633 | $434,640 | 15 | Sony Pictures Classics |
| 41 | The Mayor | $1,211 | -70% | 1 | -1 | $1,211 | $96,299 | 4 | Well Go USA |
| 42 | Alive and Kicking | $900 | -87% | 3 | -5 | $300 | $51,043 | 7 | Magnolia Pictures |
| 43 | The Last Word | $839 | -61% | 4 | -10 | $210 | $1,782,667 | 12 | Bleeker Street |
| 44 | A United Kingdom | $742 | -77% | 3 | -7 | $247 | $3,901,302 | 15 | Fox Searchlight |
| 45 | Glory | $692 | -25% | 1 | 0 | $692 | $16,598 | 6 | Film Movement |
| 46 | Slack Bay | $648 | -58% | 1 | -1 | $648 | $41,344 | 5 | Kino Lorber Films |
| 47 | After the Storm | $264 | -93% | 2 | -6 | $132 | $249,936 | 10 | Film Movement |
| 48 | The Transfiguration | $182 | -84% | 2 | 0 | $91 | $18,742 | 7 | Strand Releasing |
| 49 | The Void | $171 | — | 1 | — | $171 | $150,372 | 7 | Cartilage Films |
| 50 | A Woman, A Part | $57 | -54% | 1 | -1 | $57 | $23,328 | 9 | Strand Releasing |
| 51 | Mr. Chibbs | $48 | — | 1 | — | $48 | $8,239 | 3 | Abramorama |
Studio Weekend Estimates for Friday, May 19 – Sunday, May 21, 2017:
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alien: Covenant | $36,000,000 | — | 3,761 | — | $9,572 | $36,000,000 | 1 | Fox |
| 2 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | $35,062,000 | -46% | 4,347 | 0 | $8,066 | $301,799,474 | 3 | Disney |
| 3 | Everything, Everything | $12,000,000 | — | 2,801 | — | $4,284 | $12,000,000 | 1 | Warner Bros. |
| 4 | Snatched | $7,600,000 | -61% | 3,511 | 10 | $2,165 | $32,782,600 | 2 | Fox |
| 5 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul | $7,200,000 | — | 3,157 | — | $2,281 | $7,200,000 | 1 | 20th Century Fox |
| 6 | King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword | $6,850,000 | -55% | 3,702 | 0 | $1,850 | $27,201,221 | 2 | Warner Bros. |
| 7 | The Fate of the Furious | $3,173,565 | -41% | 2,287 | -780 | $1,388 | $219,883,865 | 6 | Universal |
| 8 | The Boss Baby | $2,800,000 | -38% | 2,071 | -840 | $1,352 | $166,152,550 | 8 | Fox / DreamWorks Animation |
| 9 | Beauty and the Beast | $2,403,000 | -50% | 1,792 | -380 | $1,341 | $497,782,049 | 10 | Disney |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How to Be A Latin Lover | $2,200,000 | -43% | 948 | -175 | $2,321 | $29,458,810 | 4 | Lionsgate / Pantelion |
| 2 | Lowriders | $1,161,695 | -52% | 365 | 70 | $3,183 | $4,190,080 | 2 | BH Tilt |
| 3 | Gifted | $765,000 | -50% | 824 | -602 | $928 | $22,899,058 | 7 | Fox Searchlight |
| 4 | Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer | $620,974 | 62% | 373 | 220 | $1,665 | $2,328,450 | 6 | Sony Pictures Classics |
| 5 | Smurfs: The Lost Village | $520,000 | -54% | 652 | -953 | $798 | $43,012,004 | 7 | Sony / Columbia |
| 6 | The Circle | $450,000 | -75% | 684 | -1448 | $658 | $20,028,784 | 4 | EuropaCorp/STXfilms |
| 7 | Born in China | $425,000 | -53% | 575 | -480 | $739 | $13,191,047 | 5 | Disneynature |
| 8 | The Wall | $321,050 | -64% | 524 | -16 | $613 | $1,578,770 | 2 | Roadside Attractions |
| 9 | The Lovers | $300,417 | 140% | 105 | 82 | $2,861 | $554,862 | 3 | A24 |
| 10 | Power Rangers | $235,000 | 122% | 221 | 24 | $1,063 | $85,097,570 | 9 | Lionsgate |
| 11 | The Zookeeper’s Wife | $234,460 | -36% | 275 | -150 | $853 | $16,842,176 | 8 | Focus Features |
| 12 | Get Out | $232,550 | -41% | 262 | -143 | $888 | $174,927,255 | 13 | Universal |
| 13 | A Quiet Passion | $202,837 | -5% | 130 | 13 | $1,560 | $1,081,112 | 6 | Music Box Films |
| 14 | The Lost City of Z | $196,679 | -61% | 217 | -280 | $906 | $8,004,545 | 6 | Amazon Studios / Bleecker Street |
| 15 | Logan | $180,000 | -37% | 213 | -92 | $845 | $225,860,505 | 12 | Fox |
| 16 | Their Finest | $150,000 | -51% | 160 | -98 | $938 | $3,178,054 | 7 | EuropaCorp/STXfilms |
| 17 | Sleight | $84,810 | -71% | 113 | -251 | $751 | $3,848,000 | 4 | High Top Releasing |
| 18 | Colossal | $78,173 | -35% | 105 | -60 | $745 | $2,868,485 | 7 | Neon |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris Can Wait | $203,633 | 106% | 23 | 19 | $8,854 | $334,215 | 2 | Sony Pictures Classics |
| 2 | The Wedding Plan | $172,975 | 446% | 53 | 45 | $3,264 | $218,975 | 2 | Roadside Attractions |
| 3 | Champion | $87,100 | — | 31 | — | $2,810 | $87,100 | 1 | ArtAffects Entertainment |
| 4 | Hidden Figures | $68,000 | -17% | 81 | -22 | $840 | $169,286,871 | 22 | Fox |
| 5 | The Dinner | $37,680 | -84% | 91 | -337 | $414 | $1,279,368 | 3 | The Orchard |
| 6 | KEDi | $18,000 | 2% | 19 | -3 | $947 | $2,625,882 | 15 | Oscilloscope Laboratories |
| 7 | Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent | $15,615 | 14% | 33 | 13 | $473 | $163,698 | 5 | The Orchard |
| 8 | Wakefield | $14,120 | — | 1 | — | $14,120 | $14,120 | 1 | IFC Films |
| 9 | Abacus: Small Enough to Jail | $13,626 | — | 1 | — | $13,626 | $13,626 | 1 | PBS Distribution |
| 10 | Risk | $11,096 | -71% | 12 | -33 | $925 | $170,986 | 3 | Neon |
| 11 | Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary | $9,835 | -57% | 10 | -6 | $984 | $220,517 | 6 | Abramorama |
| 12 | Manifesto | $7,000 | -27% | 1 | 0 | $7,000 | $24,504 | 2 | FilmRise |
| 13 | Truman | $6,500 | 12% | 6 | -3 | $1,083 | $186,792 | 7 | Filmrise |
| 14 | 3 Generations | $6,198 | -73% | 13 | -24 | $477 | $66,371 | 3 | Weinstein Company |
| 15 | Bang! The Bert Berns Story | $4,352 | -6% | 2 | -2 | $2,176 | $31,449 | 4 | Abramorama |
| 16 | The Belko Experiment | $3,360 | -98% | 18 | -56 | $187 | $10,160,965 | 10 | BH Tilt |
| 17 | The Last Shaman | $2,175 | -68% | 3 | 2 | $725 | $10,719 | 2 | Abramorama Entertainment |
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